A former sailor, Sowry, 63, is Olympian #848.
He was first appointed to the NZOC board in 2023, ahead of the Paris Olympics, and will replace Diana Puketapu-Lyndon. Sowry, who finishes as airport CEO next month, says he’s "honoured" to take on the job and build on the work Puketapu-Lyndon has done.
"I look forward to working collaboratively with the board, athletes and our diverse range of stakeholders of the NZOC to support our athletes to achieve continued success at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and to continue to promote the Olympic values and instil pride and excellence in all New Zealanders," he says.
Sowry, who competed in the Tornado event at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, was earlier selected for Sir Peter Blake’s 1985-’86 Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race campaign, onboard Lion New Zealand.
He went on to sail onboard Steinlager 2, helm the back-up boat for the NZ challenge for the America’s Cup in ’91-’92, and was then selected by Grant Dalton was watch captain for the ’93-’94 Whitbread onboard NZ Endeavour.
He’s previously served on the Yachting NZ high performance committee, and was a Yachting NZ Olympic selector for the 2004 Athens Olympics.
